LIGHT FITTINGS

ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING

It has been estimated that lighting accounts for about 20% of the total power generation of
the world. The quality and quantity of light not only affects our health, comfort, safety and
productivity but also affects the economy. Many nations have been spending a huge
amount of their electricity budget on lighting.

For achieving efficient use of electricity, nations have been taking a sustained switch to the
energy efficient lighting which is the most cost effective and reliable method of energy-
saving. Well-known technologies have been in use in the area of lighting to optimize the
existing controls and lighting equipment for reducing the energy consumption with higher
lighting quality. Let us discuss in detail about this concept.
What is Energy Efficient Lighting?

When the energy usage of a product is reduced without affecting its output or final
response or user comfort levels is referred as energy efficiency. An energy efficient product
consumes less energy to perform the same function when compared to the same product
with more energy consumption.

The energy efficiency in the lighting sector gives the required illumination level of the
lighting scheme for the application it has been designed for, while consuming the least
amount of energy. Simply, energy efficient lighting can save the electricity while
maintaining good quality and quantity of the light.
Energy efficient lighting involves in replacement (or re-lamping) of traditional lamps (such
as incandescent lamps) with that of energy efficient such as fluorescent lamps, CFL lamps
and LED lamps. It also incorporates proper lighting controls such as timer controls, PIR and
ultrasonic sensors based controls, etc.

It includes the turning off lights automatically when they are not in use, especially during
daylight. It uses electronic chokes instead of ballasts in case of conventional lighting and
also with the use of electronic circuitry; it can achieve dimming of lights when necessary.

These energy efficient schemes can be applied for external lighting, internal lighting for
residential buildings and internal lighting for commercial buildings. These schemes not only
reduce the energy consumption, but also enhance the lighting quality, increase the safety
and staff well-being, and reduce the environmental impacts.
What is the Need for Energy Efficient Lighting?

Lighting is the basic requirement of any facility and it impacts the day-to-day activities of
the people. This accounts a considerable amount of total energy consumption in domestic,
commercial and industrial installations.

In industries, energy consumption for lighting constitutes only a small component of the
total energy consumed, which is nearly 2-5 percent of total energy consumption. It
accounts for 50 to 90 per cent in the domestic sector and it may go up to 20-40 percent in
case of commercial /building sectors, information technology complexes, and hotels.

So it becomes an important area wherein energy to be conserved, especially in the

domestic sector. Lighting efficiency solutions therefore play a key role in energy saving
opportunities.

Due to the high energy consumption, traditional incandescent lamps and high discharge
lamps have to be substituted with energy efficient lamps. Traditional lamps not only
consume large amounts of electric power, but they use much of its consumed energy to
produce heat rather than light (for instance 90% of consuming energy in case of
incandescent lamps).
With the installation of energy efficient lighting, the amount of energy consumption
eventually will get reduced and it results in lower electricity bills.

Hence the energy efficient lighting is necessary

 To reduce electricity consumption, thereby reduces the electricity bills

 To save electricity rather than wasting in terms of losses
 To lower greenhouse emissions because conventional lamps cause CO2 emissions
 To achieve peak load reduction
The best and effective solution for energy conservation is the adoption of energy efficient
lighting technologies in the lighting sector, which facilitates comprehensive redesigning of
lighting and control systems.

There have been major improvements and innovations in lighting technologies which can
offer a great potential for energy savings in many lighting applications such as household
lighting, street lighting, hospitality and retail spotlights, office and industrial lighting, etc.

The following are the techniques or types of energy efficient lighting which are commonly
practiced as energy-saving opportunities.
Re-lamping with Energy-Efficient Lights

Energy efficient lamps can deliver the same amount of lighting with greater energy saving
at low cost, when compared with conventional lamps. Traditional incandescent lamps
consume a lot of energy to produce light in which 90 percent of consumed energy is given
off as heat and also they consume more energy, typically 3-5 times more than the actual
amount to produce light.

Energy efficient lamps overcome these problems by offering many more advantages than
incandescent lamps. The two most popular choices of energy efficient light bulbs include
CFLs (compact fluorescent lamp) and LED (light emitting diode) lamps.
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)

CFL lamps are miniature or curly versions of long-sized fluorescent tubes. These lamps
combine the efficiency of fluorescent lighting with the popularity and convenience of
incandescent fixtures.

They screw in to the fixtures that allow all standard incandescent lamps, but not into
standard fluorescent fixtures of long tubes. Depending on the brand and application use,
they come in different range of styles, colors and sizes.

These lamps are made with a phosphorous glass tube consisting of inert gas (argon) and
mercury vapour. They use an electronic ballast to create high voltage during the starting
and it can be a separate unit or permanently built in lamp. Some special and older models
of CFLs come with separate ballast while some CFLs come with inbuilt ballast.

When an electric current is passed through the electrodes, the electrons that are bound to
mercury atoms are excited which in turn emits ultraviolet light. As UV light strikes the
fluorescent coating, it will be converted into visible light.
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

LEDs are solid state semiconductor devices and are more energy efficient than even CFLs.
They produce little heat and higher quality lighting than any other lamp. At the time of
inception the usage of LEDs was limited as single bulb indicators in electronic circuits.

Later a number of LEDs are clustered to develop small lamps in battery powered devices
such as charging lights, flashlights, etc. Today, LED lamps are available in many new bulb
styles which are bright enough to replace traditional incandescent lamps.

LED lamps use 75 percent less energy than traditional incandescent and 50 percent less
energy than that of a CFL. They can last 8-25 times longer compared to incandescent and up
to four times longer than a CFL. Unlike incandescent and CFLs, LED lamps produce no heat
and hence they are cool enough to touch. But, these are more expensive; however, they
are affordable over the long run
LEDs are made up of semiconductor materials to form PN junctions. Whenever current
flows across these junctions, it releases the energy in the form of a light. The wavelength
and hence the colors of the light depends on the composition of materials. LEDs can
generate yellow, red, blue, green and white light. For lighting purpose several white colors
LEDs are stacked as clusters to produce required lighting for an application.

LED bulbs are available in different shapes, sizes and styles according to the type of
application it is intended for. Some of these types include diffused bulbs, dimmable globe
LED bulbs, track lighting pin-base type bulbs, flood reflector screw-in base bulbs, flame tip
candelabra base LEDs and LED tube lights.
Fiber Optic Lighting

Optical fibre can be used for transmitting light from a source to a remote location for
illumination as well as communications. In fact, fibres are made to not only transmit light
but to glow along the fibre itself, so it resembles a neon light tube. Applications for fiber
optic lighting are many, generally based on utilizing the special attributes of the fiber as
well as its unique characteristics.

Fibre optics are a relatively recent technology that have found many uses. The first
application of such a technology was in telecommunications whereby information is
transmitted by light signals. However, fibre optics have also been used in many other
applications such as medical imaging and as specialised lighting for dentistry, microscopes,
cameras, and instrument displays. In building services, fibre optics have been used in
sensors to measure pressure, temperature and humidity.
How fibre-optics works

Light travels down a fibre-optic cable by bouncing repeatedly off the walls. Each tiny
photon (particle of light) bounces down the pipe like a bobsleigh going down an ice run.
Now you might expect a beam of light, traveling in a clear glass pipe, simply to leak out of
the edges. But if light hits glass at a really shallow angle (less than 42 degrees), it reflects
back in again—as though the glass were really a mirror. This phenomenon is called total
internal reflection. It's one of the things that keeps light inside the pipe.

The other thing that keeps light in the pipe is the structure of the cable, which is made up of
two separate parts. The main part of the cable—in the middle—is called the core and that's
the bit the light travels through. Wrapped around the outside of the core is another layer of
glass called the cladding. The cladding's job is to keep the light signals inside the core. It can
do this because it is made of a different type of glass to the core. (More technically, the
cladding has a lower refractive index.)
Types of fibre-optic cables

Fiber-optic cable modes showing light ray paths for single and multi-mode step index cables

Optical fibres carry light signals down them in what are called modes. That sounds technical
but it just means different ways of traveling: a mode is simply the path that a light beam
follows down the fiber. One mode is to go straight down the middle of the fiber. Another is
to bounce down the fiber at a shallow angle. Other modes involve bouncing down the fiber
at other angles, more or less steep.
One advantage of fibre-optic light is its energy efficiency. Fiber-optic lighting systems work
from a single light source. This light uses less energy than standard lighting and can feed a
network of fibre-optic bundles to power an entire lighting system.

Versatility is another big advantage. Fiber-optic light can be set up to meet specific and
changing needs. Flexible cables can be moved to shift focus to a different area. Shifting
colors and dimming, twinkling and chasing lights are easy to set up with fibre-optics,
producing elaborate light shows.

Museums use fibre-optic light to protect valuable works of art. Ultraviolet light emitted by
traditional lighting can damage paintings. Fiber-optic light does not extend into the
ultraviolet spectrum, allowing paintings to be fully lit without fear of damage or fading.

As a cold source of light, fibre-optics work well in situations where temperature is

important. Grocery stores can light their cold merchandise without producing heat, saving
on refrigeration costs. Fiber-optic lights can be safely handled as well with no fear of
burning.
Advantages of Optical Fiber

Greater bandwidth & faster speed—Optical fibre cable supports extremely high bandwidth
and speed. The large amount of information that can be transmitted per unit of optical
fiber cable is its most significant advantage.

Cheap—Long, continuous miles of optical fibre cable can be made cheaper than equivalent
lengths of copper wire. With numerous vendors swarm to compete for the market share,
optical cable price would sure to drop.

Thinner and light-weighted—Optical fibre is thinner, and can be drawn to smaller diameters
than copper wire. They are of smaller size and light weight than a comparable copper wire
cable, offering a better fit for places where space is a concern.

Higher carrying capacity—because optical fibres are much thinner than copper wires, more
fibers can be bundled into a given-diameter cable. This allows more phone lines to go over
the same cable or more channels to come through the cable into your cable TV box.

Less signal degradation—The loss of signal in optical fibre is less than that in copper wire.

Light signals—Unlike electrical signals transmitted in copper wires, light signals from one
fiber do not interfere with those of other fibres in the same fibre cable. This means clearer
phone conversations or TV reception.

Long lifespan—Optical fibres usually have a longer life cycle for over 100 years.
Disadvantages of Optical Fiber

Low power—Light emitting sources are limited to low power. Although high power emitters
are available to improve power supply, it would add extra cost.

Fragility—Optical fibre is rather fragile and more vulnerable to damage compared to copper
wires. You’d better not to twist or bend fibre optic cables too tightly.

Distance—The distance between the transmitter and receiver should keep short or
repeaters are needed to boost the signal.